Presidential hopefuls have courted the nation’s billionaires for years, and this week we’ll see whose entreaties were most well received.
Each candidate’s super PACs, which can accept unlimited donations as long as they don’t coordinate spending with the campaign, will file their first finance reports of 2015 by Friday. These reports will show just how much each allied group has in the bank to launch negative advertisements against their opponents, organize field programs in early states and march through what could be a slog of a nomination fight.
Most super PACs have already released top-line figures for the amount of money they raised in the first half of the year. But on Friday, the actual reports will reveal which of the nation’s mega-donors have chosen to back their campaigns, a particularly important indicator of strength in the fractured Republican field.
Political observers are looking to if any surprise names who have cut million-dollar checks to their favorite candidate turn up and to see how split is the powerful Koch Brothers network of donors, which meets this weekend in California.
Here’s what we’ve learned so far:
Jeb Bush’s historic super PAC haul is historically deep
What is perhaps most impressive about Jeb Bush’s super PAC — beyond its record-setting haul of $103 million — is how deep that support runs. Unlike many of his competitors, who are dependent on a few names, Bush collected about two dozen donations of more than $1 million, which altogether only accounted for about 25% of the money his super PAC raised.
No donor gave more than $3 million to Bush’s group, which he fundraised for aggressively throughout the first half of 2015. More than a dozen of his $1 million donors hail from one of the states Bush has called home: Texas and Florida.
Many of the top donations come from donors with ties to the previous two Bush administrations, including contributions from the former presidents themselves. George H.W. Bush gave $125,000 to his son’s super PAC, but George W. Bush only gave $95,000 to his brother’s.
Original Ted Cruz super PAC supplanted — only raises $250,000
The creation of Stand for Principle, a super PAC dedicated to electing Ted Cruz, right after Election Day was read as the clearest signal yet that Cruz allies were gearing up for a presidential run.
But now, that group — which has indicated it would focus more on grass-roots engagement — seems to be faltering, having only raised $250,000 in the first half of 2015. A constellation of four other super PACs, Keep the Promise, have elbowed out the original Cruz groups and raised $38 million.
All of that $250,000, save $500, came from a New Jersey limited liability corporation.
John Kasich’s 527 committee got four seven-digit gifts
Ohio Gov. John Kasich is drawing on some of his state’s top givers to bankroll his new presidential campaign.
Three individuals or companies from Ohio wrote him more than $1 million between April and June: Philanthropist Abigail Wexner, real estate firm Schottenstein Management Company, and Ohio donor Tom Rastin, who is married to a woman who has donated to organizations in Koch Brothers’ network, Karen Wright. A California family trust also gave another $1 million.
“Gov. Kasich has built a strong base in Ohio and has attracted donors nationally because supporters have seen, many firsthand, how his policies and leadership are working in Ohio,” said Connie Wehrkamp, a spokeswoman for Kasich’s group.
The group, which raised a total of $11.1 million, filed its report with the Internal Revenue Service — and not the Federal Election Commission — because it was a tax-exempt organization and not yet a super PAC at the time of the filing.
Jeff Yass: Rand Paul’s sugar daddy
The Kentucky senator has three separate super PACs financing his independent spending: America’s Liberty PAC, run by a longtime family aide, Concerned American Voters, a grassroots organization, and Purple PAC, a libertarian advocacy group repurposing itself as a Paul group.
Behind all those groups is Philadelphia investor Jeff Yass, who gave $2.25 million of the $6 million that the three groups raised. Yass — who gave $250,000 to Concerned American Voters and $1 million to each of the other two groups — runs Susquehanna International and reportedly learned about options trading as a brilliant poker player.
Other big donors to Paul’s super PACs are Paypal board member Scott Banister ($1.25 million) and George Macricostas ($1.1 million.)
Lindsey Graham has three $500,000 donors
The South Carolina senator’s super PAC, Security is Strength, raised 50% of its $3 million from three donors: Houston Texans owner Bob McNair, philanthropist Ron Perelman and a New York holding company founded by investor Len Blavatnik.
Other prominent donors include Marlene Ricketts, the wife of one of the Republican Party’s most prominent donors, Joe Ricketts, who gave $10,000, and General Electric chief and former Obama administration official Jeff Immelt, who gave $25,000.
The group had $2.75 million on hand as of June 30.